ISO 19650 standards aren’t someone else’s problem- they are your everyday tool

Many professionals still treat ISO 19650 standards as background noise, useful, but someone else’s responsibility. That mindset quietly shapes much of the frustration that still surrounds BIM. We talk about collaboration, data, and digital transformation, yet we often struggle to apply the very framework designed to make all three work together.

If we want BIM to work for everyone, we need to make its language our own. Translating ISO 19650 into everyday terms is not a matter of simplification; it is a matter of clarity.

Why it matters to everyone

BIM standards are often seen as the concern of specialists — information managers, coordinators, or digital leads — but their impact extends far beyond those roles. Every project decision, from early design choices to construction sequencing and handover documentation, depends on the quality and clarity of information. When standards are misunderstood or ignored, the effects ripple across the entire supply chain: missed updates, duplicated effort, and costly miscommunication.

ISO 19650 matters to everyone because information touches everyone. Whether you’re modelling, approving drawings, ordering materials, or managing assets, the way information is structured shapes the success of your work. When teams share the same language, collaboration stops being an aspiration and becomes an everyday practice.

Understanding the challenge of technical language

Standards are written with the best intentions — clarity, consistency, and quality — yet their language often serves specialists more than practitioners. Yet their language often serves specialists more than practitioners. ISO 19650 is a clear example: logical in structure, but written in a way that can alienate the people expected to use it.

The problem is not resistance, but translation. Many professionals agree with the idea of standardised information management, yet struggle to interpret what it means in the context of their daily work. Terms such as information delivery milestones or level of information need make sense in theory but lose clarity when applied to something as simple as updating a model or approving a drawing.

In practice, the gap is not between people and standards, but between language and meaning. When the terminology becomes too dense, even experienced teams revert to old habits, working from personal templates, interpreting clauses in isolation, or treating ISO 19650 as a compliance checklist instead of a collaborative framework.

What ISO 19650 actually says (in plain English)

At its core, ISO 19650 describes how to manage project information efficiently and collaboratively. Its principles can be summarised in three ideas:

1. Information management is not about spreadsheets and folders. It is about building a shared understanding so teams can act with confidence instead of assumption.

2. Common Data Environment (CDE) is the project’s shared memory, the single, trustworthy hub where all data lives. It is not just storage; it’s a controlled environment that gives structure to collaboration.

3. Standardised naming, classification, and process flows might sound administrative, but they are the invisible framework that makes coordination possible. They save hours of confusion, reduce rework, and create accountability.

Technology should help — not hide — understanding

Technology plays an important role, but it should simplify rather than obscure. A well-configured CDE aligned with ISO 19650 can automate workflows, naming conventions, and approvals. However, without clear communication, even the best systems fail to deliver the intended benefits.

Digital tools should act as translators of standards, not gatekeepers. Platforms with built-in templates or guided upload processes reduce the learning curve and support consistent practice without requiring every team member to study the full standard. When information moves between separate CDEs or incompatible platforms, structure and metadata are frequently lost, exposing the fragility of even the most “standardised” digital process.

Still, technology is only as effective as the understanding behind it. If we cannot explain ISO 19650 in a meeting without opening the standard, then we haven’t truly understood it.

Balancing structure and flexibility

The purpose of translating BIM standards is not to simplify them beyond recognition. It is to make them usable.

Clarity should never erase intent. ISO 19650 was written to be scalable and adaptable, not prescriptive. When teams treat it as a rigid checklist, they lose the very flexibility that makes it powerful.

Each organisation can find its own balance by:

• Keeping the core principles intact. Don’t change what the standard aims to achieve, change how it’s communicated.

  
  

• Adapting language and examples to project context. A housing project doesn’t need the same level of documentation as an airport.

  
  

• Reviewing and refining processes regularly. Standards evolve, and so should internal practice.

  
  

The value of ISO 19650 lies in interpretation, not replication.

Three practical steps to make standards relatable

1. Start small. Select one project and define a clear naming and folder convention before scaling the approach. Gradual implementation builds confidence.

   
   

2. Educate through demonstration. Ten minutes in a coordination meeting showing how the CDE works can change habits faster than any training manual.

   
   

3. Make it visible. A diagram of who passes what information to whom is often the clearest way to explain the standard.

   
   

Translating standards begins with shared understanding, not documentation.

My personal reflection

When I first studied ISO 19650 7 years ago, I remember thinking: “Wow, that’s a lot of text, a lot of terms and a lot of diagrams.” But then I realised the value: As an architect, seeing how one bit of information flows from stage to stage helped me connect the dots between big-picture standard and everyday tasks.

The framework wasn’t abstract anymore. It was logical. It mirrored what good teams already do instinctively, just more consistently and transparently.

If ISO 19650 standards still feel like someone else’s problem, that’s precisely the problem. The more we internalise their language, the more they become part of how we work, not something imposed from outside.

Moving forward

The language of BIM should unite professionals, not divide them. ISO 19650 is a framework for collaboration, but its success depends on interpretation. The challenge for the AEC industry is not whether people can follow the standard, it is whether they can understand it well enough to make it their own.

By translating standards into plain, practical language, organisations transform compliance into competence. BIM standards stop being someone else’s responsibility and become everyone’s shared tool for better information, better communication, and better buildings.

Next steps

Information management doesn’t have to be overwhelming. If you’re looking for practical ways to implement ISO 19650, BIM Design Hub training provides the tools and guidance you need. Learn more here: ISO 19650 Course Bundle by BIM Design Hub.

Start small, download the Beginner’s Guide to ISO 19650 and get familiar with the standard in plain language.

🖊️About the author: Nicoleta Panagiotidou is an architect, ISO 19650 specialist, and the founder of BIM Design Hub. She helps AEC professionals and businesses streamline their projects and enhance success through effective information management.

Breakwithanarchitect © 2025 by Nicoleta Panagiotidou. Licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Sharing is encouraged with credit and link to the original post, but full reproduction requires prior written consent.